The UK government is taking an active stance against the growth of foundational AI models like ChatGPT.
PM Rishi Sunak and Technology Secretary Michelle Donelan have committed an initial £100 million (approximately $124.5 million) to set up a Foundation Model Taskforce.
This team will create AI that enables the country to attain “global competitiveness” while partnering with the industry to enhance the safety and reliability of these systems.
The task force takes inspiration from the COVID-19 vaccine unit established during the pandemic’s peak. This group will report directly to both the Prime Minister and Technology Secretary and will have a chairperson announced during the summer. In addition, approximately £900 million ($1.1 billion) from the UK budget will be dedicated to an exascale supercomputer and specialized AI research resources.
Officials are transparent in their aspirations. The UK aims to possess “sovereign” AI technology that advances the economy while sidestepping the ethical and technical issues that have prompted experts to call for a six-month experiment halt.
Some models can be fallible or demonstrate unusual behavior, such as declining to answer inquiries or criticizing users. Donelan views trustworthy AI as a competitive advantage that can assist in developing medical therapies, supporting public services, and combating climate change.
To a certain extent, the UK has a significant foothold in the field of AI. For example, Google’s DeepMind team, predominantly located in London, produces state-of-the-art AI research. However, the most innovative systems recently originated from foreign sources.
For instance, ChatGPT was created by the US-based OpenAI. Theoretically, the task force would enable British AI to remain relevant, notwithstanding the trend of foreign-born technologies.
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